In China, and some other areas in Asia, the social ethics and moral teachings of Confucius are blended with the Taoist communion with nature and Buddhist concepts of the afterlife, to form a set of complementary, peacefully co-existent and ecumenical religions.

There are approximately 6 million Confucians in the world. About 26,000 live in North America; almost all of the remainder are found throughout China and the rest of Asia.

Confucian ethical teachings include the following values:

Li: includes ritual, propriety, etiquette, etc.

Hsiao: love within the family: love of parents for their children and of children for their parents

shu- Discussions of morality and human nature are irrelevant in Legalism. Benevolence has no place in ruling a state because unless people are ruled by a strong, strict hand, they grow lazy and disrespectful of authority. Policies based on benevolence might work for the short term, but inevitably led to disorder and failure. Daoism and Confucianism looked to the past as the ideal and tried to recreate the past. Confucius' rituals came from the Zhou Dynasty and the Dao is the original state of all things. Legalism disregards the past--conditions were different back then, so what worked back then would not necessarily work in the present time.

The Han Feizi is considered the main text of Legalism. It is a comprehensive guide to ruling directed at kings. It consists of 55 chapters, each with its own theme. Some chapters are, strangely enough, Daoist in style, others deal with xing ming, and others tell the ruler what pitfalls to avoid while running a state. Many of the chapters contain lists of specific things to avoid (the 8 Villainies, the 5 Vermin, the 10 Faults), such as putting too much trust in your ministers and concubines, or offending more powerful states. Others discuss techniques of ruling--"Two Handles" talks about power over reward and punishment as the key to staying in power. If the ruler lets go of this power, he puts himself in danger of losing order in his state.

Tao (pronounced "Dow") can be roughly translated into English as path, or the way. It "refers to a power which envelopes, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living. The Tao regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites (i.e. there would be no love without hate, no light without dark, no male without female.)"

Since the time of the Han dynasty (206 CE) four life passages have been recognized and regulated by Confucian tradition: Birth: The T'ai-shen (spirit of the fetus) protects the expectant woman and deals harshly with anyone who harasses the mother to be. A special procedure is followed when the placenta is disposed of. The mother is given a special diet and is allowed rest for a month after delivery. The mother's family of origin supplies all the items required by the baby on the first, fourth and twelfth monthly anniversary of the birth. Reaching maturity: This life passage is no longer being celebrated, except in traditional families. It takes the form of a group meal in which the young adult is served chicken. Marriage: This is performed in six stages: Proposal: the couple exchange the eight characters: the year, month, day and hour of each of their births. If any unpropitious event occurs within the bride-to-be's family during the next three days, then the woman is believed to have rejected the proposal. Engagement: after the wedding day is chosen, the bride announces the wedding with invitations and a gift of cookies made in the shape of the moon. Dowry: This is carried to the groom's home in a solemn procession. The bride-price is then sent to the bride by the groom's parents. Gifts by the groom to the bride, equal in value to the dowry, are sent to her. Procession: The groom visits the bride's hom

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2153
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)